SM Lee goes offline to ‘touch grass’, iconic ‘magic cup’ makes surprise appearance in leave announcement

‘Magic cup’ makes cameo appearance in Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s leave announcement

Senior Minister (SM) Lee Hsien Loong is going on leave and taking a short break, and he’s doing it in the most Gen Z way possible.

SM Lee announces leave on social media

In an Instagram post on Monday (22 June), SM Lee announced that he would be on leave until 28 June.

He also said he was looking forward to using his break to do what his younger team members call “touch grass”.

For the uninitiated, it’s an internet slang referring to stepping away from screens and spending time outdoors.

“Logging off for now :)” he wrote, signing off with his initials “LHL” and adding a leaf emoji for good measure.

Accompanying the post was a photo of a blue-and-white porcelain cup perched on a large rock amid lush greenery.

‘Magic cup’ makes special appearance

Most Singaporeans will recognise it as the famous “magic language-changing cup”, which achieved cult status during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During several national addresses in 2020, viewers noticed that then-Prime Minister Lee often took a sip from the cup before seamlessly switching between English, Mandarin and Malay.

The running joke quickly turned the humble teacup into a local meme.

The cup became so iconic that a local porcelain workshop, Supermama Store, later launched a replica inspired by it, dubbed “The Original Magic Cup”.

The handcrafted porcelain piece features Tembusu flower motifs and retails for S$26.

Over the years, the cup has developed an almost celebrity-like following, with netizens occasionally asking about its whereabouts whenever it failed to appear during major speeches.

This time, though, the cup appears to be enjoying some downtime too.

Netizens tell SM Lee to enjoy his break

In the comments section, a netizen wished SM Lee happy holidays, while another echoed the sentiment before mentioning that they recognised the “famous magic tea cup”.

An Instagram user enjoyed the humour that the social media post was trying to convey.

Another netizen suggested doing a feature on the person who crafted the “beautiful cup”.

Also read: Lee Hsien Loong marks 14 years on social media with 14 unseen photos, new Telegram & WhatsApp stickers

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Featured image adapted from @leehsienloong on Instagram & Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook for illustration purposes only.